Unit Editions, design book publishers, hosted a talk to celebrate the success of their amazing book Manuals 1: Design & Identity Guidelines. The panel consists of Sean Perkins (North), John Lloyd (Ex-Lloyd Northover) and Tony Brook (Spin/Unit). The discussion was hosted by Adrian Shaughnessy.
It opened a tribute to Massimo Vignelli who passed away earlier in the week. In the winter he had written the forward for the book and provided much encouragement and excitement about the project. Some of his quotes set the tone for the evening including:
“Anyone who says that a manual is a creative straight jacket is a moron. Without a manual you will end up speaking a dialect. A good manual allows you to speak a language” Massimo Vignelli
The panel discussed this and many other ideas about brand with passion and experience. I particularly loved these gems from Tony Brook:
“You find beauty in intelligent guidelines”
“There a spacial awareness and a form of beauty in them”
What Tony & Adrian from Unit Editions really wanted to find out from the crowd why the book had sold so well. It seemed before the published they were concerned it was a bit of an anachronism – but it actually quickly became one of Unit Editions best selling titles.
There was a lot of romanticising print – which is obviously true as the original artefacts are documented in their Havana-like ageing glory.
I suggested to the panel that it might also be a document of a time when large scale brand identity was practised at a scale and quality that isn’t so all pervasive any more. IE: the immense amount of brands we interact with now fluctuate wildly in their visual quality and the care that has gone into them. This book is an immense document about quality in the visual representation of brands. I didn’t think it was an artefact entirely about documenting the past but that it’s content seems very relevant in the digital age. Two of its fundamental tenants are:
– Work with incredible precision (pixel perfect)
– Consider the users (UX)
And now that I think of it;
– Make character – or identity – with the minimum elements: colour, type and geometry.
Great design does not work without these considerations. Great brands and great design are detailed to the core for many reasons. I have always liked this Dieter Rams quote on the matter: “Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect toward the consumer.”
Later we had a chat about the un-improvable design of the book and how `the Unit Editions Herb Lubalin monograph is a “museum in the hands”.
Leaving, I walked into the invisible beauty of Kennington tube station, swiped my parochial looking Oyster card and passed through the gates that were clad in ads for an utterly forgettably branded gym. I was reminded of a conversation I had the the other night with a friend who is a – digital – creative director. He said “Only a few people know what a brand is”.
“If you do it right it will last forever”
Massimo Vignelli, 1931-2014
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